Archive for the ‘Griffith Borgeson’ tag

If you have a strong interest in engines and the engineering behind their designs, you will revel in the highly interesting information on twin-cam engines that’s packed in this book. As expected from author Griffith Borgeson, the information is deep, insightful and written in an authoritative manner that the renowned automotive historian was famous for.

As expected of a Borgeson book, he uncovers information that few had known about before. For instance, did you know that for the 1923 Indianapolis 500, Packard entered three race cars, all powered by a secret Packard-designed twin-cam engine? There’s not a lot of information about it, but what Borgeson did uncover is in here, and is illustrated with several photos. And so is the 1928 Lockhart Stutz Black Hawk that was powered by two Miller 91 twin-cams that were mounted on a common crankcase.

The first eight chapters delve deep into the history of overhead-cam engine designs, the reason for their creation, those engineering geniuses who created them and their early appearances in Grand Prix competition.

Each of the next 25 chapters focuses on a single auto manufacturer and its twin-cam engine designs. They include all the popular marques such as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Delage, Fiat, Miller, Aston Martin, Maserati, Duesenberg, Mercedes and Triumph, but also lesser-known brands such as Humber, Salmson, Amilcar, Vauxhall, Frontenac, and Rolland-Pilain. The twin-cam engine offerings of each marque are well detailed, and backed by numerous period photographs, illustrations and exploded-view engineering drawings.

While this book is filled with discerning technical information, Borgeson wrote in such a manner that it’s very understandable, all the while keeping it exciting to read. There are 275 pages of fascinating twin-cam engine information, the likes of which you just won’t find anywhere else.

As a sort of follow-up to his story on the Arnolt-Bristol, Griffith Borgeson took a look at the life and work of Franco Scaglione, the designer behind such stunning aerodynamic shapes as the BAT series of concept cars, the aforementioned Arnolt-Bristol, and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint and Giulietta Sprint Speciale. Borgeson’s story appeared in SIA #141, May 1994, less than a year after Scaglione died.

Not too many people would dare run an Arnolt-Bristol as a daily driver, but esteemed writer Griff Borgeson did, and via that experience ended up meeting Wacky Arnolt and Nuccio Bertone, two key figures in the Arnolt-Bristol’s creation. Borgeson related his adventures with the sports car in SIA #132, November 1992.